Exhaust-controlling valve.



, .PATENTED MAR. 27, 1906. w. J. INMAN. EXHAUST CONTROLLING VALVE.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 4, 1906.

VVESLEY'J. INMAN, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH UN TE STATES PATENT onnron.

TO J. H. WARREN AND THREE-EIGHTHS TO O. H. MOOORMIOK, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS. I

EXHAUST-CONTROLLING VALVE."

citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Worth, in the county of Tarrant, State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Exhaust-Controlling Valves, of which the following is a specification. This invention relatesto improvements in valve-motions for steam or air engines; and the objects are to control .the exhaust by rotary motion instead of reciprocating motion, to prevent lost motion of valve mechanism, to simplify the valve mechanism by reducing the number of parts, and to reduce the cost of operation.

One difliculty in the valve-motion of valves now in use is that there is no direct communication between the inlet and the exhaust. The communication in the old valves is accomplished indirectly, and there is considerable lost motion by reason of the fact that the numerous parts of the valve'mechanism are exposed to dirt and dust. In my invention these defects are remedied by a reduction of the number of parts of the valvemovement and by inclosin thevalves in a steam-chest or inclosure an by directing the steam or other power-producing element through appropriate ports in the valves and the valve-seats and by direct communication with the enginecylinders. The link, the eccentrics, the valve-rods, the rocker-arms, and the slide-valves in common use are dispensed with. In my invention thesteam oils the complete valve-movement with the same oil that oils the cylinders'.--

Other objects and advantages will be fully explained in the following description, and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application and specification.

Figurel is a side elevation of a steam-chest equipped with my improved valve movement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, taken along the line as w of Fi 3. Fig. 3 isan interior view of one section ofthe steamchest. Fig. 4 is a bottom lan view of a rotary feed and exhaust va ve. Fig. 5 illustrates' the ports in the oscillating feed and exhaust valve. Fig. 6 is a broken longitudinal section along the line g y of Fig. 3.

Similar characters of reference are used to Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 4, 1905. Serial No. 239,649.

' chest.

Patented March 27, 1906.

indicate the same parts throughout the several views. i

The improved valve-movement is mounted in the steam-chest 4. This chest is comeposed of two parts coupled together, onepart being seated in the other and each part hav ing a flange26 and the two flanges being se-. cured together by suitable bolts 27. The joint may be made steam-tight by suitable packing 28. The steam-chest is mounted on the shaft 16 of the engine. A suitable pipe 3 leads from the boiler to the steam-chest. There are two valves in each end of the steamend will be sufficient, because thevalves in the other end are the samev in construction.

, The valve 6 is a rotary feed and exhaust valve'and isrigid with shaft 16. This valve :is provided with anintake-port- 5. On the bottom of this valve or on the face next to the oscillating valve are two exhaust-portal one of which consists of a cavity 18 and a cavity 19, formed in the valve, and each of these ports is considerably larger than the feed-port 5, .and these cavities are connected by an under surface duct 22, and the other exhaust-port consists of two cavities 20 and 21, formed in the valve and united by a duct similar to duct 22. also considerably larger than port 5. The valve 6 has a seat 29in the steam-chest.

The valve 9 is an oscillating feed and exhaust valve and may also be called a divider, because the steam may be divided on the centers or when the port 5 is on the line as 01; either between ports 10 and 11 or between ports 12 andg13. When standing in either one of these positions, the engine may be started in either-direction. This valve is,

chest for each valve-port is to provide spaces along the line w w on the bottom of the steamchest'for cut-01f purposes. With such spaces for cut-oifs any length of the stroke of the 'pistondesired may be had. The ports in the end of the steam-chest are united by Y connections. The ports 10 and 11 are united by The description of the valves'in one The ports 20 and 21 are having two ports in the end of the steam- 2 IIO the Y connection 14, and the ports 12 and 13 are united by the Y connection 15. A pipe 1 forms a passage from connection 14 to one end of the steam-cylinder, and a pipe 2 forms a passage from the connection to the other end of the steam-cylinder.

A packing-box 32 is provided for each end of the steamchest and may be attached to the steamchest by screwing the same on a boss 33, formed on the steam-chest. The ports 18 and 19 are adapted to form an exhaust-passage from the port 7 ,to an exhaust seat-port 23. The ports 23, formed in the seat 29, form exhaust-passages to a circular duct 24, formed in the steam-chest. This duct 24 is continuous around and within the wall of the chest 4. A suitable exhaust-pipe 25 connects with the exhaust-duct 24 and leads to a place to dispose of the exhaust. There is a similar exhaust-duct in each end of the steam-chest, and the two are connected by means of a duct 34, formed in the wall of the two chestsections.

The pipes 1 and 2 at one end of the steamchest are intended to be connected to one engine-cylinder, and the pipes 1 and 2 at the other end of the steam-chest are intended to be connected to another engine-cylinder. One pipe 25 may serve as an exhaust for both engine-cylinders, because the two circular ducts 24 are connected by the longitudinal duct 34. The amount of steam can never be greater than that which comes through port 5. The ports 10 and 11 and the ports 12 and 13 are feed as well as exhaust ports and are larger than port 5 but these ports beinglarger than port 5 cannot increase the feed beyond the capacity of port 5, but they do increase the exhaust, because the exhaustports 18 and 20, which cooperate with ports 10 and 11 and 13, are equal in exhausting capacity to these ports and equal to the seat exhaust-ports 23. Thus the exhaust Will continue longer than the feed, or, in other Words, the exhaust is greater than the feed.

In operation steam comes from the boiler through pipe 3 to the steam-chest, which stands in communication with the boiler. Steam passes from the steam-chest 4 by means of the port 5 in the rotary feed-valve 6, thence through the port 7 or port 8 of the oscillating feed-valve 9, thence through the ports 10 and 11 or through the ports 12 and 13 to the pipe 1 or 2, respectively, and thence to one end of the steam-cylinder. As the valve 6 is rotated the port 5 passes over the ports 7 and 8 in succession and allows steam to pass through. Consequently steam is fed through pipe 1 for a short time and then through pipe 2 for a like space of time as the piston is reciprocated in the engine-cylinder. Steam is exhausted back from the enginecylinder through the pipes 1 and 2 in the following manner: When pipe 1 is feeding, the

pipe 2 is exhausting, and vice versa. The

exhaust comes back through the pipe 2, through the'connection 15, through ports 12 or 13. When port 18 passes over the port 8, the exhaust passes from port 8 to port 18, thence through duct 22 to port 19, thence through one of the valve seat-ports 23 onto exhaust-duct 24. A like operation takes place when port 20 passes over port 8, the exhaust passing from port 8 to port 20 and from port 20 to port 21 and thence through one of the ports 23 to exhaust-duct 24. A like series of operations takes place when one of the valve face-ports 18 or 20 passes over the port 7. The exhaust passes from the ports 23 to the exhaust-ducts 24 and thence through exhaust-pipe 25 to some place for discharging the exhaust.

The valve 9 may be called a divider. It may be turned in either direction to regulate the cut-oif, and the engine may be reversed by turning the valve 9 so that the port 7 may communicate with port 10 instead of with port 11, and the port 8 may be turned to communicate with port 13 instead of with port 12', and vice versa. The steam may be entirely cut off by moving the ports 7 and 8 to a plane midway between the ports 10 and 11 and between the ports 12 and 13 that is, turning the valve so that the ports 7 and 8 will rest against the seat along the line 00 9c of Fig. 3. The valve 9 may be turned to regulate the amount of steam to be admitted by turning the valve so that the port 7 will be partly over the port 10 or 11 and the port 8 will be partly over port 13 or port 12. The engine may be reversed simply by moving the reverse-lever 17 from left to right or right to left, as the lever may have been set.

The steam-chest 4 may be located at any suitable place.

If this valve mechanism is for use 011 a stationary engine, the shaft 16 may be the main driving shaft of the engine. If the valve mechanism is for use on a locomotive-engine, the shaft 16 may be driven by suitable gearing from an axle. The drawin s show valve mechanism for two engines. t is apparent that one of the valves can be disconnected and the device used for a single engine.

Various other chan es may be made in the construction of the va ve mechanism without departing from my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let- .ters Patent, is

1. Valve-gear com rising a suitable steamchest, a shaft rotate in said chest, a rotary valve carried by said shaft and having a port therethrough and face-ports toward the end of said chest for exhausting, a seat for said valve formed in said chest and provided with exhaust-ports therethrough, an oscillating valve loosely mounted on said shaft and cooperating with said rotary valve, said oscillating valve having combined inlet and exing valve mounted in said chest and provalve, and a seat having exhaust-ports coop' therethrough operating in said chest, a seat formed in said chest for said valve having exhaust-ports therethrough, an oscillating valve having combined inlet and exhaust ports therethrough cooperating with said r0 tary valve, and suitable combined inlet and exhaust pipes communicating withsaid oscillating valve and to be connected to an engine-cylinder, said rotary valve having face exhaust-ports communicating with said seatportsand said oscillating valve.

3. Valve-gear comprising a steam-chest, combined inlet and exhaust pipes communi-T eating with said steam-chest' and to be connected to an engine-cylinder, an oscillatvided with combined exhaust and inlet ports to cooperate with said pipes, a rotary valve having an inlet-port therethrough and face exhaustports adjacent to said oscillating erating with ports in'said rotary valve.

4. Valve gear comprising a steam-chest, means for supplying said chest with steam, an oscillating valve mounted in said chest and provided with ports for alternately feeding and exhausting, combined feeding and exhausting pipes communicating with said ports, a rotary valve having an inlet-port therethrough cooperating with said oscillat ing valve and faceexhaust-ports cooperating with said oscillating valve, and a seat formed in said chest for said rotary valve'having exhaust-ports therethrough.

5. Valve-gear comprising asteam-chest, a rotary feed-valve mounted in said chest having a port therethrough, combined exhaust and feed pip es communicating with said chest,

and an oscillating feed and exhaust valve 00- I Y operating with said pipes and said rotary valvefor starting, stopping or reversing an engine, said rotary valve being provided with fac'e exhaust-ports adjacent to said oscillating valve.

6. Valve-gear comprising a steam-chest, a rotary feed-valve mountedin said chest having an inlet-port therethrough, two combined feeding and exhaust pipes communicating with said chest, each pipe having a double connection with said chest, a seat for said rotary valve having exhaust-ports there'- through, and an oscillating valve having ports therethrough for feeding and exhaust purposes for starting, stopping, or reversing purposes, said oscillating valve forming the connection between said pipes and said rotary valve and said rotary valve having exhaustports cooperating with said oscillating valveports.

7. Valve e gear comprising a steam chest combined feeding and exhausting pipes connected with each end of said chest, an oscilhaving a circular duct communicating with" each seat-port at each end and a longitudinal duct connecting, the two circular ducts, and

an exhaust-pipe connected to one of said ducts.

In testimony whereof I set my hand, in the pDreSence of two witnesses, this lOthday of ecember, 1904. l i WESLEY J. INMAN. Witnesses: A. L. JAcKsoN,

J W. STITT. 

